StemCell Therapy

A foreign worker suffering from diabetes contracted melioidosis, or soil disease, while digging trenches at a construction site and had to have all 10 toes amputated. Researchers have found that Type 2 diabetics suffer from a lack of an antioxidant called glutathione, making them more susceptible to the bacteria that causes melioidosis. — NP FILE PHOTO By Judith Tan DIABETICS have a higher risk of getting melioidosis – better known as soil disease – because of a deficiency in their immune systems, Singapore researchers have found.

ScienceDaily (May 2, 2012) A pioneering approach to imaging breast cancer in mice has revealed new clues about why the human immune system often fails to attack tumors and keep cancer in check. This observation, by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), may help to reveal new approaches to cancer immunotherapy

A pioneering approach to imaging breast cancer in mice has revealed new clues about why the human immune system often fails to attack tumors and keep cancer in check.

Newswise ANN ARBOR, Mich. Like a police officer calling for backup while also keeping a strong hold on a suspected criminal, immune cells in the brain take a two-tier approach to fighting off a threat, new research from the University of Michigan Health System finds

Public release date: 30-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Kara Gavin kegavin@umich.edu 734-764-2220 University of Michigan Health System ANN ARBOR, Mich. Like a police officer calling for backup while also keeping a strong hold on a suspected criminal, immune cells in the brain take a two-tier approach to fighting off a threat, new research from the University of Michigan Health System finds

Public release date: 25-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Katherine Barnes katherine.barnes@kcl.ac.uk 44-020-784-83076 King’s College London DNA from the heart’s own cells plays a role in heart failure by mistakenly activating the body’s immune system, according to a study by British and Japanese researchers, co-funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). Scientists from King’s College London and Osaka University Medical School in Japan showed that during heart failure a debilitating condition affecting 750,000 people in the UK this ‘rogue DNA’ can kick start the body’s natural response to infection, contributing to the process of heart failure. During heart failure immune cells invade the heart, a process called inflammation.

Dear Dr. Donohue: I'm a relatively young woman at 43 years old.

Dear Dr.

Further evidence of immune system link to autism? KANSAS CITY, USA: According to a study in the April 2012 International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, the plasma of children with autism had significantly lower levels of various cytokines, compared with that of unrelated healthy siblings from other families, who had family members with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Cytokines are small proteins released by cells of the immune system that act as intercellular mediators and communicators between cells

ScienceDaily (Apr. 10, 2012) The immune system is a vital part of our defenses against pathogens, but it can also attack host tissues, resulting in autoimmune disease

Public release date: 9-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Robert Mitchum robert.mitchum@uchospitals.edu 773-795-5227 University of Chicago Medical Center The ranking of a monkey within her social environment and the stress accompanying that status dramatically alters the expression of nearly 1,000 genes, a new scientific study reports. The research is the first to demonstrate a link between social status and genetic regulation in primates on a genome-wide scale, revealing a strong, plastic link between social environment and biology

Washington, Apr 10 (ANI): By studying social stress that moulds monkey immune system, researchers have shed light on how the stress of low socioeconomic status may impact human health and how individuals' bodies adapt after a shift in their social environment.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 9, 2012) Macrophages playing an important role in the immune system eat and fight against pathogens and foreign substances in the very beginning of infection. In this condition, macrophages produce reactive oxygen species for sterilization

A change in the social position of a rhesus macaque can affect the expression of nearly 1,000 genes, perhaps partly explaining why poorer people tend to have worse health outcomes. It’s the first time that a link’s been demonstrated between social status and genetic regulation in primates on a genome-wide scale. Comparing high-ranking rhesus macaque females with others of low rank, researchers discovered significant differences in the expression of genes involved in the immune response and other functions

For monkeys, being on top of the social pyramid is likely good for the health — and it could be true for humans, too. Researchers led by a University of Chicago and Emory University team studying social hierarchies in rhesus macaques have found that a monkey’s social status appears to influence how her genes are regulated, particularly those genes pertaining to the immune system

Public release date: 9-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Lisa Newbern lisa.newbern@emory.edu 404-727-7709 Emory University If a monkey’s social status changes, her immune system changes along with it say researchers who conducted the study with rhesus macaques at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. This finding may have implications for how the stress of low socioeconomic status affects human health and how individuals’ bodies adapt after a shift in their social environment.

The stress of being the new kid on the block may cause changes to the immune system, leaving the body vulnerable to getting sick, finds a new study on monkeys.

GENEVA–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Therakos, Inc., a pioneer in the development of an innovative immune modulation therapy called extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), today launched Lighting Up Lives, a 25-year anniversary campaign and year-long global initiative that honours the lives of patients with serious immune diseases impacted by ECP, as well as the healthcare professionals, caregivers and treatment centres that support them every step of the way. For a quarter century, ECP has been a valuable option for patients suffering from immune diseases, including graft-versus-host (GvHD), Crohns disease, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and solid organ transplant (SOT) rejection, that are unresponsive to other therapies.

Public release date: 30-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: ESC Press Office press@escardio.org 33-049-294-8627 European Society of Cardiology London — New strategies injecting cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients with vaccines and monoclonal antibodies to combat atherosclerosis could soon change the treatment landscape of heart disease. Both approaches, Professor Jan Nilsson told delegates at the Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2012 meeting, can be considered truly ground breaking since for the first time they target the underlying cause of CVD. The FCVB meeting, organised by the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science (CBCS) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), held 30 March to 1 April at the South Kensington Campus of Imperial College in London

Public release date: 28-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Craig Brierley c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk 020-761-17329 Wellcome Trust Genetic variants in a region of the genome linked to our immune response have been linked to increased risk of podoconiosis, a disfiguring and disabling leg swelling caused by an abnormal reaction to the minerals found in soil. An estimated 4 million people worldwide suffer from the condition. In a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland compared the genomes of 194 people affected by the disease from southern Ethiopia against 203 people who were unaffected